Richard Haydn (10 March 1905 – 25 April 1985) was a British comedian.

Early life

George Richard Haydon was born in 1905 in

Camberwell Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...

, in the

London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council ...

. After working as a music hall entertainer and overseer of a Jamaican banana plantation, he joined a touring British theatre troupe, where he shortened his last name to from "Haydon" to "Haydn", and debuted on Broadway in 1939 in ''

Set to Music ''Set to Music'' is a musical revue with sketches, music and lyrics by Noël Coward. Produced by John C. Wilson, the Broadway production opened on January 15, 1939 at the Music Box Theatre, where it ran for 129 performances. Directed by Coward ...

'' and appeared in '' Two for the Show'' (1940).

Career

Haydn was known for playing eccentric characters, such as Richard Rancyd ('' Miss Tatlock's Millions'', 1948), Stanley Stayle (''

Dear Wife ''Dear Wife'' is a 1949 comedy film starring Joan Caulfield and William Holden. It is the sequel to '' Dear Ruth'', which was based on the Broadway play of the same name by Norman Krasna. Plot Miriam Wilkins is a teenage girl who is campaigni ...

'', 1949), and Claud Curdle (''

Mr. Music ''Mr. Music'' is a 1950 film starring Bing Crosby and Nancy Olson, directed by Richard Haydn, and released by Paramount Pictures. It is based on the play '' Accent on Youth'' written by Samson Raphaelson. Filming took place from October to Dece ...

'', 1950). Much of his stage delivery was done in a deliberate over-nasalised and over-enunciated manner. RichardHaydn2

Some of Haydn's notable performances include Professor Oddley in '' Ball of Fire'' (1941), Roger in '' No Time for Love'' (1943), the manservant Thomas Rogers in ''

And Then There Were None ''And Then There Were None'' is a mystery fiction, mystery novel by the English writer Agatha Christie, who described it as the most difficult of her books to write. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 N ...

'' (1945) - based off of

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

's book of the same name - Emperor Franz Joseph in '' The Emperor Waltz'' (1948), the voice of the Caterpillar in Disney's ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...

'' (1951), Baron Popoff in ''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' ( ) is an operetta by the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The Libretto, librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein (writer), Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's ...

'' (1952), and William Brown in ''

Mutiny on the Bounty The mutiny on the ''Bounty'' occurred in the South Pacific Ocean on 28 April 1789. Disaffected crewmen, led by acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, seized control of the ship, , from their captain, Lieutenant (navy), Lieutenant William Bli ...

'' (1962). Haydn was acclaimed for his role in

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their musical ...

's 1965 film musical ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

'', in which he played the Von Trapps' family friend Max Detweiler.Richard Haydn
'' AFI Catalog'' In the late 1940s, Haydn briefly worked as a film director, for the films '' Miss Tatlock's Millions'' (1948), ''

'' (1949), and ''

'' (1950). Haydn performed as the nosy neighbour and gossip in '' Sitting Pretty'' with Clifton Webb and

Maureen O'Hara Maureen O'Hara (; 17 August 1920 – 24 October 2015) was an Irish-born naturalized American actress who became successful in Hollywood from the 1940s through to the 1960s. She was a natural redhead who was known for playing passionate b ...

in 1948, using his over-nasal voice. He was Prof. Summerlee in 1960's '' The Lost World'', and in the same year, played opposite

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...

in '' Please Don't Eat the Daisies''. Forever-Amber-1

On radio, Haydn played Edwin Carp on '' The Charlie McCarthy Show'', and he was a regular on ''The Swan Soap Show'', which featured George Burns and Gracie Allen. Haydn wrote one book, titled ''The Journal of Edwin Carp'', in 1954. In the 1960 ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'' episode " A Thing About Machines", Hayden played Bartlett Finchley, a quirky, self-absorbed, technophobe who is confronted by every machine in his home. Haydn reprised the role of Edwin Carp for a 1964 episode of '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'' which saluted several old-time radio performers. He also appeared as a Japanese businessman in a 1968 episode of '' Bewitched'', a magician in a 1969 episode of ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

'', and a butler in a 1973 episode of '' Love American Style''. Haydn's last film role was as Gerhard Falkstein in '' Young Frankenstein'' (1974).

Death

On April 25, 1985, Haydn died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

at his home in

Pacific Palisades, California Pacific Palisades is a neighborhood in the Westside Los Angeles, Westside region of the city of Los Angeles, California, situated about west of downtown Los Angeles. Throughout January 2025, the majority of Pacific Palisades was severely affec ...

, at the age of 80. His body was donated to the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haydn, Richard 1905 births 1985 deaths 20th-century English male actors English expatriate male actors in the United States English male film actors English male radio actors English male television actors English male voice actors Male actors from London Actors from the London Borough of Southwark People from Camberwell